The "mystery" was not as strong as her other books but, of course, I read to find out what happened to Tommy, Barbara, Deborah and Simon since the last time I picked up a George book! Getting a bit tired of the circle that Deborah and Simon are caught in but it fit well with the overall theme of the link between parents and children. Here's hoping that there is some action in #18 in their family for all of our sakes. George is marvelous at leaving us with a true cliffhanger, so obvious when you read it that you wonder why you were so stupid in not seeing it earlier. Here's hoping that she's writing very quickly... ( )

The "mystery" was not as strong as her other books but, of course, I read to find out what happened to Tommy, Barbara, Deborah and Simon since the last time I picked up a George book! Getting a bit tired of the circle that Deborah and Simon are caught in but it fit well with the overall theme of the link between parents and children. Here's hoping that there is some action in #18 in their family for all of our sakes. George is marvelous at leaving us with a true cliffhanger, so obvious when you read it that you wonder why you were so stupid in not seeing it earlier. Here's hoping that she's writing very quickly... ( )

About two-thirds of the way through the latest Inspector Lynley mystery I had a burning desire to ask the author two questions: If you're tired of writing mysteries, why not write something else? And, if you're tired of writing about Inspector Lynley, why not write about someone else? Because this novel is neither a mystery, nor is it very much about Thomas Lynley.

So, on that score, this book was a disappointment. There were other problems too, but Elizabeth George is a talented writer and it is always enjoyable to be in her company. So in the end, I gave this flawed book a three-star rating.

The plot, if it can be said there is one, in this 600 page story has been detailed extensively in other reviews, so I won't recap it here. What I will say though, is that there is at least two books worth of material included in this one volume, and to my mind, that is the book's greatest shortcoming. Although, George's skill at story-telling makes it easy to keep the multiple story-lines straight, I did wonder more than once why it was necessary to weave so many disparate subplots into one novel.

The book is about people who lie and the consequences of those lies. Everyone in this book is deceiving someone, whether it be themselves or someone else. And yes, the multiple deceptions do add a certain amount of gravitas to the the story. But really, I counted ten separate stories running through these pages, and while many intersect, some don't...so why include them? Of necessity, with ten tales to tell George developed some in greater depth than others. However this means that some potentially interesting characters ended up receiving short-shrift. An entire book could have, and probably should have been written about Alatea. Conversely, Zed should have been left on the cutting-room floor.

Another irritation was the frequent passages describing the Cumbrian coastline, that all tended to sound very much the same. Yes, I get it that there were a lot of birds flying through as they migrated to warmer climes. Do I need to be told this half-a-dozen times in nearly identical language? When a writer as good as Elizabeth George slips up like this, it's much more noticeable than when it is done by someone with less talent.

Finally, there's the question of Deborah. Would anyone with her intelligence and upbringing actually behave as she is made to do in this book? This is a major flaw in the story; so much so that I could not credit the outcome that results from her irrational behavior. In the end, I put this book down feeling unsatisfied, and Deborah's story-line was, in large part, the reason why.

Yes, there is much to enjoy here, but ultimately the book falls far short of George's better efforts. As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this is not a mystery, and Lynley's role is not central to the story's development. Therefore, you will probably enjoy the book more if you are not expecting, as I was, to to spend some quality time with Inspector Thomas Lynley as he unravels a perplexing mystery. ( )

I just love Elizabeth George! This series never fails to engross and entertain me, and take me into a different world. I enjoyed this tale of the family in the Lake District, and how much the land itself played a part in the action. While there were a couple of improbable plot points (the main one being the motivation of the person who put all the action into motion), I still found this to be an entertaining and well-told story.